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Course Information

Division

Business and Information Technology Education

Course Code

BT00232

Course Title

Customer Assistance

Suggested Course Hours

120.00

Course Description

This course provides student with customer service concepts. The competencies include assessing customer needs, educating customers, solving problems, and making decisions. Students learn competencies required to pass industry certifications in addition to secure and hold jobs.

Contact Information

Blake McCrabb
405-743-5419
bmccr@okcareertech.org

Prerequisites

Fundamentals of Technology or Business and Computer Technology

Knowledge & Skills

Identify the objectives of performing world class service.
-Explain the importance of customer service specialist skills in technical training programs.
-Describe how formal company customer relations initiatives can be conveyed to customers.
-Contrast the difference between poor and good communications of CSS principles to employees and customers.
-Describe an example of both poor and excellent customer service.
-Explain the benefits when the service personnel actively support product sales efforts.
-Contrast the difference between employees well informed of company products and services and those who are not.
-Explain how to utilize the consumer perception of the company effectively to improve the service interaction.
-List several reasons better customer service can cause customers to choose a business over other similar businesses.
-List several reasons customers are "turned off" from doing business with a company.
-List several ways to keep up-to-date on your company's products and services.

-Describe some of the traits of successful customer service specialists.
-Demonstrate traits of successful customer service specialists.
-List the primary objectives of customer service
-List personal rules for success in customer service.
-Describe the need for understanding a company's organizational structure.

Explore the effect of employee legal responsibilities in the workplace.
-Explain why it is important to the customer service specialist that the company is not violating any laws.
-Describe how another employee's draining the company's resources can affect you.
-Explain how a company's not providing sufficient help-desk workers can defraud the customer.
-Explain how an untrained help-desk worker defrauds the customer.
-List some customer service specialist actions that might negatively affect the company's success.

-Discuss why it is important that the customer service specialist to be an expert about the company website.
-Explain why sales, service, and marketing personnel must keep up-to-date products, accessories, and service.
-Explain why sales, service, and marketing personnel must be able to educate customers on the usage of products.
-Present examples of acronyms used at your business and discuss how these should be explained or defined for coworkers and customers.
-Describe an example of communication with a coworker or non-technical employee, using words which they might not understand.

Explore concepts, strategies, and systems needed to interact effectively with others.
-Present an example of explaining a highly technical subject to a customer, showing how to use comparisons with well-known human topics.
-Describe a case where a service/sales person can reduce customer tensions caused by a lack of knowledge, price or extent of a service function.
-List methods that might aggravate or enlarge a customer problem rather than reducing it.
-Explain the differences or liberties one can take when dealing with known acquaintances as compared to someone you are meeting for the first time.
-List methods to attempt to gain a customer's confidence.
-List examples where direct letterhead mail should be used rather than e-mail.
-List examples of telephone conversations in which security should be a consideration.
-List the five items you need to obtain from a customer having a problem with your product or service.
-Describe the importance of being prepared when the telephone is first answered.
-Explain why a cover sheet is vital when sending a fax transmission.
-Explain why you should remain at the fax machine until your document completes sending.
-List the three essential parts of an e-mail communication.
-Explain the importance of proofreading you e-mail message at least twice before sending.
-List the guidelines of cell phone usage.
-Describe proper etiquette in taking and relaying phone calls to other people at your place of business.
-Explain the importance of knowing effective methods of dealing with conflict.
-Explain possible disadvantages of employee-coworker dating
-Discuss some good methods for dealing with stress in the workplace.
-Describe some different types of workplace violence.
-Explain why having good people skills is important in the workplace.
-Describe the four basic personality types.
-Explain the benefits of understanding your personality type and the types of the people you encounter.
-Discuss some disadvantages of displaying improper emotions at work.
-Explain a good method for taking the emotions out of decision-making.
-Explain how a person's attitude toward change can increase or decrease stress.
-List some different types of resistance to change that you might encounter.
-Discuss the importance of a person's attitude.
-List some tips that will help a person deal with change.

-Resolve customer-coworker problems.
-Discuss the important steps of good customer/client relations.
-Discuss how a company can promote good coworker relations.
-List the steps involved in arriving at a solution to a customer service problem.
-Explain the importance of listening when dealing with a customer.
-List several reasons a customer or coworker may become highly emotional.
-Explain ways to respond to highly emotional people to help reduce negative reactions.
-Contrast the response of an unsympathetic service person to that of a sympathetic treatment of an emotional person.

Explore techniques and strategies used to foster positive, ongoing relationships with customers.
-Explain what is meant by a customer service person doing more than expected.
-List some examples of how completed service products' appearance can show quality.
-Describe some of the traits of successful customer service specialists.
-List three personal rules for success in customer service.
-List some effective methods of handling irate customers.
-Present an example of double-checking that could save recall service event or head off a customer problem.
-Explain the detrimental effect of sales and service personnel doing "all of the talking" to a customer.
-Discuss some of the filters a listener brings to a conversation.
-List some tips for interpreting body language.
-Describe techniques for effective listening on the telephone.
-List some positive replacements for common negative words and comments.
-Discuss the importance of feedback in listening.
-List dos and don'ts in becoming an effective speaker.
-Describe why customer feedback is essential to your business.
-List methods a customer service specialist can use to collect customer feedback.
-Discuss why it is important for a customer service specialist to be an expert on the company website.
-Explain the use of surveys to encourage customer feedback.
-List parts of a working feedback system.